Editing color with Live Color

Adobe Illustrator CS3 has many tools for working with color including the Color Guide panel and the Live Color feature. Use the Color Guide panel (Window > Color Guide) as a tool for color inspiration while you create your artwork. The Color Guide panel suggests harmonious colors based on the current color in the Tools panel. You can use these colors to color artwork or you can save them as swatches.

In this section you will see how to edit colors using the Live Color dialog box. You will make a copy of the Aquo logo and test colors.

1. With the Selection tool, click and drag a marquee selection around the Aquo Natural Energy logo and choose Edit > Copy, Edit > Paste. Move the copy down below the original logo and keep it selected.
   
2. Choose Edit > Edit Colors > Convert to CMYK. This way the yellow PMS color in the copied logo has been converted to CMYK.
   
3. Choose Edit > Edit Colors > Recolor Artwork. This will open the Live Color dialog box and allow you to edit the colors in the logo.
   
   The Live Color dialog box should appear, so keep it open for the next steps.
   
   You use the Live Color dialog box to create and edit color groups, as well as reassign or reduce the colors in your artwork. All of the color groups that you create for a particular document appear in the Color Groups storage area of the Live Color dialog box (as well as the Swatches panel). You can select and use these color groups at anytime.
   
4. In the Live color dialog box, click on the Hide Color Group Storage icon on the right side of the dialog box. This will hide the color groups storage area for now.
   
5. Click on the Edit tab to edit the colors in the artwork using a color wheel.
   
   Hide Color Groups storage area.
   
   
   
6. Click on the Color Mode button and choose CMYK from the menu (if the CMYK sliders are not already visible.)
   
   Choose CMYK from the color mode drop down menu.
   
   
   
7. While still in the Live Color dialog box, click on the Link Harmony Colors icon to link all of the colors together (if you see a link icon, then they are already linked). This way if you make an edit to one color, it will affect the others. These are called Harmony colors.
   
8. Holding the Shift key, click and drag the yellow color circle to the left into the green area of the color wheel. Drag the Brightness slider to the right to make the colors brighter overall. This will perform a global adjustment. Keep the Live Color dialog box open.
   
   Link the colors, adjust the yellow color, change the brightness.
   
   
   
   Close up.
   
   
   
   A. Color display options.
   B. Color of selected color marker or color bar.
   C. Recolors selected artwork when checked.
   D. Show saturation and hue on Wheel.
   E. Color Mode button.
   F. Color Group To Colors In A Swatch Library button.
   G. Unlink harmony colors.
   H. Add and subtract color marker tools.